Selective Harvest

(What to keep and what to let go)

Last week I put a post-up of us releasing a 20” fish and it started an interesting debate on our Facebook page. This got me thinking about an article of how and why we choose the sizes of fish to keep and release on the lakes we guide on. After all, most of us like to eat what we catch and like to be aware of the fisheries health at the same time. We get asked a lot of questions about the fish in this area. A big one that seems to pop up is “How do you know what size fish to keep and what size to release?”

 Our CPW biologists do lake surveys. Some are every year others are every few years. We rely heavily on this information to decide the size of fish we should keep. For this article I will concentrate on Lake Granby but the links can lead you to plenty of other fisheries in the state.

Jon Ewert is our local biologist. Every year he sets nets out on Granby.

The original locations were randomly picked and now the nets are set in the same place every year. The nets are set at the same times every year. The nets soak for exactly 6 hours. (This helps keep mortality to a minimum). Due to the ice melting at different times he seems to pay close attention to water temps and set the nets as close as he can to the same temps every year.

A list of the surveys around the state are here. https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/FisherySurveySummaries.aspx

Lake Granby’s survey is here https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Fishery%20Survey%20Summaries/LakeGranby.pdf

There is a ton of great info on these links. If you think you know a lot about your lake there is always something new here to learn.

Below I copied a graph of the catch rate info off of the year 2018 netting info. As you can see in 2013-2017 there were a lot of 13”-16” fish and very few 22”-28” fish. In 2018 there we had a few less 13”-16” fish but there were more 22”-28” fish in the nets. As with any survey the results can be mis leading, however it’s all we have. If you look at past surveys there are trends to follow.

In 2018 the 16”-18” fish were very prevalent. We decided to try and keep limits on these. With the “bump” in 19”-28” fish we think we have a chance to help a few fish get to the 30” range if we promote these links.

It is our belief if we promote release 19” and over lake trout in Granby we can have a very balanced fishery with larger heavy fish. These links help guide our philosophy and help promote healthy fisheries.

As time passes and these graphs show different results we should think about changing our harvesting habits.

The fishing pressure on all of our lakes have increased greatly over the past 10 years. This makes it even more important for the fisher people to be aware of what’s going on in our waters and adjust our habits accordingly.

It was with this philosophy that the “Lake Trout Mafia” was started. Its goal is to promote healthy lake trout fisheries across our region. It’s an informal group of anglers dedicated to keeping our fisheries healthy. If you would like more information go to https://www.facebook.com/Lake-Trout-Mafia-353872184627753/

Grand County "Where adventures begin"

Grand County

Where adventures begin

I have the opportunity to speak with a lot of people about their experience here in Grand County. It’s generally a very exciting and positive conversation. An idea I came up with a while back is to try and give ideas for daily adventures to people visiting our county. A day should start out with a great breakfast Sharkys in Frazier (www.sharkyseatery.com) or Java Lava (www.javalava.net) in Granby are two of our favorites. Next Winter Park (www.winterparkresort.com) or Granby Ranch (www.granbyranch.com) have great winter and summer adventures. 

For the people who might want to get away from everyone, Rocky Mountain National Park (www.nps.gov) has some great hiking trails that can lead you to amazing places. Make sure to bring snacks, water, raingear, a gps and a friend.

Rivers are a great source of fun. Whether its bushwhacking to a tiny creek for brook trout or floating larger waters for rainbows and browns there is a lot of moving waters in the county to explore. The more popular areas are The Colorado river, The Frazier River, Willow Creek and the Williams Fork river. 

Renting a boat and floating on the water, casting a line or looking for animals is a great way to start your mornings. There are marinas on Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain and lake Granby. There is also plenty of shoreline access on these lakes also. 

After a day strenuous day of skiing or hiking Hot Sulphur Springs resort (hotsulphursprings.com) is a great way to relax and soak your muscles. Pay attention to the hillside, there are a lot of deer that hang around just outside of the fence in the winter. 

There’s a lot of animal viewing opportunities in the area. During the summer Rocky Mountain National park is full of Deer, Elk, Moose and you might even see coyotes and a bear. The best times to see animals in the park is very early and late in the day. During the winter months elk and deer wintering grounds are very abundant. Look for south facing slopes with no trees on them. Once again early and late is your best options.